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Red Line stations filled with sighs as yet another train up and dies

Midwinter's Wolf reports Charles/MGH turned into a mosh pit this evening when an inbound train died there shortly before 6 p.m. and the T ordered everybody out after another train arrived to push it into the Charles out of the way.

Only the platform was so crowded not everybody could get off the train. Joelle Baehrend reports:

Stuck on a train with doors open at Charles MGH. Platform so packed we can't exit the train. Sick person in our car. Unsafe.

The MBTA reported "moderate" delays as it dealt with that situation. Sarah Marina, at Downtown Crossing shows us what that meant there:

Raymond Ausrotas was also at Downtown Crossing:

And you can only imagine what it was like at Harvard. Just in case you can't, though, S.I. Lydon describes the scene:

Train at Harvard still waiting to move apparently after 1/2 hour because of disabled train at Charles. Tons of folk headed upstairs to wait for the #1. Good times.

One of the things I loved about Rich Daveys is that he actually rode the T every day. Rode the T for years. Heck, went to school with him (a few grades difference) so our love for the T probably started in earnest in the same time. Of course, back in those days I never thought that there was a problem when you were stuck on the Red Line between Central and Kendall for a half hour. Simpler times for me.

But yes, if the higher ups had to deal with the situations that the passengers deal with on a daily basis, there might be some improvement (the lag time based on the construction of new vehicles notwithstanding.) Or they'd all move to East Boston and Revere, since the Blue Line is a relatively well run line.

Vanished bike lanes. Navigating mystery ice piles and mud messes on certain pathways and getting from path to street where plowing ended for no clear reason. Huge puddles (tgff - thank g_d for fenders!). Walking through mud fields where DCR plows lost the track of the pavement and cleared grassy areas by mistake (they melted down since the morning commute and I had to get off and walk). Contending with pedestrians forced into roadways for short stretches. Not being able to use an underpass on Rt. 16 and having to find my way to the walk signal and lift my bike over a mound to get to the crosswalk.

So, yes, not easy, but warm and still doable. Certainly a lot more productive and satisfying than riding the red line would have been.

Today I found the sidewalks I was on to be clear. And I went from Cleary Square to Forest Hills on foot. The bike lanes are adjacent to travel lanes. If anything, I would think the bike lanes are clogged with cars that can’t park next to the sidewalk due to snow piles blocking the parking lanes.

I got on at Park at about 5:30, outbound to Alewife. Stopped at Central. Sat there until 6:30, bailed, found a series of buses to more or less get where I was going. Missed an appointment. At least I didn't sit there and waste any more time.

The only fix is to make every single person who works for the MBTA take the T to work every day. On their own dime. No free or special parking. If they're late to work, their pay is docked; if they're late twice, they get written up. Is it fair? Are all those workers causing the problems? Hell, no. But companies that want to offer an excellent product or service do this thing called "eating your own dogfood". Fair's got nothing to do with it, it's how problems get fixed - and on the subject of fair, we customers certainly aren't causing the problem either. So why are we the only ones feeling any pain?

I got to Harvard at 5:45pm because my plan was to go to Central Square...but after the PA announced there was "moderate" delays, I went upstairs and got something to eat, and figured I would take the Route 1 bus to avoid the Red Line.

No such luck. I sat at Johnson Gate for half an hour, and while the Route 66, 68 and 69 buses showed up, the the Route 1 bus never did.

I went back downstairs and took the train, but by then, it was relatively better. I left Harvard at 7, got to South Station at 7:25, hot footed it to the Needham train, and got to Highland around 7:50.

I've been taking the Route 1 bus in the mornings and with few exceptions there hasn't been a problem. Why the Route 1 bus never showed up could be a mix of (a) severely choked traffic on both sides of the Mass Ave bridge, (b) a warm, wet night where all the stir-crazy people come out, and (c) the Route 1 drivers were afraid they'd be pressed into shuttle service and decided that staying away from Harvard would be the best bet.

Looking at those photos at the top, I actually feel lucky to be a bus-only commuter. I take the 71 bus each morning from Watertown Square and it's quite pleasant. I hope I never have to commute to the Seaport.